questionnaire

Age? 19

Sex? Female

What is your degree subject (both if joint)? Media and Communication and Creative and Professional Writing

Does ‘Being Bad’ relate well to the other modules you are taking? Not really.

If so, how? And if not, why not? My subject are not related with being bad, however I like it because it is something else.

Have you found ‘Being Bad’ too demanding, too easy, or at an appropriate level?

Rather ok, but in my opinion there should be more theoretical stuff. We all can discuss everything, but it is good to have a knowledge about e.g. philosophers and what were their opinions and why.

Do you think the list of topics covered on the module was appropriate?

Yes.

Are there any topics not included in the module that you would like to see included?

No.

Do you think that the format for classes has worked well?

Yes, even if there was a lot of people, we were able to discuss and think.

What did you think of the module team?

Very good, it was an interesting experience to have so many lecturers.

Do you think it would have been better to have had more:

Small group discussions? No

Discussion and debate among the class as a whole? No, I think that it was just fine.

Information and talk from lecturers? No

The approach taken in the module is interdisciplinary (drawing on perspectives from English Literature, Film Studies, Creative Writing, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies and Politics): do you think this a useful way of approaching the topics covered in the module?

Yes, it is interesting. I found something for myself.

Do you think that interdisciplinary modules are a good idea?

Yes.

Do you think you have benefited from the interdisciplinary approach taken in the module?

Yes.

Would you like to see more modules that cover this kind of subject matter?

Why not.

Are you planning to take the follow-up module PH2004 ‘It Shouldn’t Be Allowed’ at level 2?

No, but I would like to. I already have 4 modules that I have to take.

Would you recommend ‘Being Bad’ to a friend?

Yes.

Do you think that the blogs (web logs) were a good idea?

Yes. It wasn't easy, however interesting and I was able to do more things than in the essay.

What did you think of the other assessments (e.g. would it be better to have one longer assessment rather than two shorter ones?)?

It was ok for me.

What have you learned from the module?

:) Generally, that being bad is not only about doing bad things because we are bad. There are reasons, possible explanations and it is not as simple as we may think. I have become more empathic.

What parts of the module have you found most useful and why?

Lectures- informations which were new for me.

What parts do you think were a waste of time and why?

none

5.comment

http://naughty6.blogspot.com/2008/04/littering.html

Littering.
I would like to segregate my rubbish and recycle them. But firstly, I don't have such a possibility, because there are no special bins near my home. Secondly, I have heard that even if somebody does it - segregate - very often, they put all rubbish together on the one truck. So it seems that there is no point in doing that.

The problem are of course papers, bottles etc. which are everywhere. I can't understand, why people cannot simply put something into a bin, but they just leave it everywhere. It doesn't hurt and will make our world better.

16. Global warming

Climate change is the biggest environmental problem nowadays. Global warming causes the spread of new diseases, the extinction of many species and the occurrence of more and more dangerous natural phenomena. What is more, in South Korea and Taiwan trade is called a ‘toxic trade‘ (Dickens 2003:570). The fast-developing technologies produce huge pollutions. Other serious environmental issue is the fact of killing dolphins which swim together with tuna. That was the reason for inventing dolphin safe labels for canned tuna, such as United States Department of Commerce, The Flipper Seal of Approval or Greenseas.
We are all responsible! After 10 years, many areas may disappear under the water. But we don't care...
Maybe it is just a normal thing, it is too dangerous as a smoking which may kill - we cannot thing about such a bad things so we are trying to forget or to trivialize them.

4.comment

http://naughty6.blogspot.com/2008/04/underage-drinking.html

Underage drinking.
It is a serious problem in our society. Maybe, most of us have tried an alcohol, while we were young, but now it seems to be a bad thing. Firstly, it cannot be a taboo, because then teenagers would be curious and even more, would want to drink something. The other problem is that, there is some kind of fashion to drink and to be drunk. Alcohol is everywhere, and while big corporations are in power, we are not able to change the situation. However, in America when it was banned it was bigger problem then when it wasn't.
Because what is illegal or banned or our parents told us not to do sth, we want it even more...

15.Living in the global village

The phrase ‘global village’ may have different meanings for different people - it may be ‘a community of diverse people living at peace in mutually constructive interaction’ or ‘a repressive global uniformity from which there is no place to escape’ (Lerda 2002:3). Internet, as a global real-time information system, gives the possibility to communicate with the whole world. On the other hand, Internet used by hackers may be dangerous e.g. Internet crimes and even terrorists’ attacks. However, Internet is not accessible everywhere. Lately, in Cuba the government decided to legalise computers, but Internet access in still restricted. Visible McDonaldization, which is the process ‘by which the principles of the fast food restaurant (efficiency, calculability, predictability and control) are coming to dominate several sectors of society‘ (Mooney 2007:162), is in fact the method of unification and exploitation. In the global village, instead of many improvements, many threats are becoming real. Terrorism and international crime are a big problem. To be able to prevent and act against it, organizations such as FBI and local police have to cooperate. What is more, because of the cheapest and easier travelling, many diseases which used to be exotic, may be spread. Not to mention global illnesses such as avian flu. A process of global warming also causes the spread of new diseases, the extinction of many species and the occurrence of more and more dangerous natural phenomena.

14.Eating

We all love eating. It is a pleasure and relax.We eat when we are bored or during a date...
Eating is important part of our life, we cannot exist without food.
However, so many people are overweight, and because of that, they feel bad. It is a paradox, because a thing which is so good, may have such a bad effect on us.
I think that is all about some limit, we have to know when should we stop eating. What is more, there is a big need to be perfect and beautiful. The more our society wants to be perfect, the more people are overweight. Maybe, the pressure is to big?
stress and bad eating habits

13. Flash mob and happening

Flash mob is a spontaneous, plotless theatrical event, in the contrary to happening which is very often done to show something. There are many announcements in the Internet, as it is the easiest way to let people know about that and to gather them.

Sometimes flash mobs are done just for fun, and to surprise people. E.g. the pillow fight in Toronto.
Sometimes, however, people try to change something and show that they do not like something.
These people are protesting against Putin, what is visible. Their masks look like Putin's face. They have t-shirts with slogans: "Vova (short for Vladimir) go home!", "Vova, your mission failed!" and "The submarine sank". They were arrested by the police.

What about freedom of speech?

The biggest flash mob ever.

The example of happening:
Soap
(Commissioned by Florida State University. Performed in Sarasota on February 3rd and 4th, 1965. Like the
preceding work, this was first discussed in conference and then performed only once, without rehearsal and without spectators. Appropriate sites were chosen by the participants shortly before performance. Actions in parentheses are alternatives given to participants: either or both may be enacted.)

1st morning: clothes dirtied by urination
1st evening: clothes washed
(in the sea)
(in the laundromat)

2nd morning: cars dirtied with jam
on a busy street
cars cleaned
(in a parking lot)
(in a car-wash)
2nd evening: bodies dirtied with jam
bodies buried in mounds
at the sea edge
bodies cleaned by the tide


Notes to SOAP
Each person privately soils some article of his own clothing. This is essential, for
it refers to one’s real experiences as an infant. In this act the person mingles his
own water with the water of the sea or laundromat and consequently makes the
cleansing of his clothing inescapably personal. Cars should be methodically and thoroughly
smeared with jam, within sight of passers-by. The washing should be
done as diligently. If a commercial carwash is used, one should have this done
as though nothing were out of the ordinary. Any questions asked should be
answered in as noncommittal a way as possible.
A vacant stretch of beach is best. Either couples or individuals may perform this.
There should be long distances between each individual or couple. In the case of
couples, one person covers the partner (who is preferably naked) with jam, digs
a hole for him (or her) with sand to the neck, and sits quietly watching until the
tide washes the partner clean. Then they depart.

12.Internet

Internet is something relatively new, and unknown for the normal people. Unknown, because they are able to use it only in order to do a few things. And there is a lot of possibilities.

Good things about Internet:
-a big access to information, including news, e-books, opinions of other people.
-it is fast and easy - paying online, buying goods online, even selling them.
-it provides an entertainment - online games.
-a contact with other people, our friends - chats, skype, messengers, 'my space'

Bad things about Internet:
-access is (in the most cases) unlimited - pornography, vulgarisms, and so called 'bad sites' which are available also for kids
-there is a danger, if we don't have to go out to buy something or to meet with friends, that we become less social people (human being is a part of the society, and rather cannon exists without it).
-our contacts with the others may be less personal, without a body language (a main part -70% of our message)
-viruses and spam

In China, Internet is a powerful machine used be government. Most pages are banned, only these of main political party are not at all, there is a police in the Internet:Using Internet in China, you will see them from time to time, to remind you that they know everything what you doing. What is interesting - 93% of Chinese opposition's site is inaccessible, and only 7% these with pornography. Google claims that their policy is open, without any restrictions, but it seems not to be truth.

11.Pornography and arts

Pornography is a form of writing of visual art which is provided to sexually stimulate. In Greek, it means a ‘depiction of whores’. Is it a bad thing, or may be consider as a good one? I think that there should be a division on pornography, which is obscene and banned (e.g.for kids or with kids, or naked woman on the Internet) and on the one which may be called an art (Kama Sutra, photography acts). The problem is that each of us, has a different taste and may consider other things bad or an art. In the Christian church, one cannot wear a short skirt, the same situation is in the Islamic culture (I would say, even more strict).

'Andrea Dworkin has argued in her book Pornography: Men Possessing Women that pornographic texts reveals men's inherent belief in the right to sexual access to women's bodies. For Dworkin the definition of pornography is all sexual material that shows sexual degradation. Her argument involves the testimony of many women who have been coerced into participation in pornography. Dworkin and Catherin MacKinnon have worked and campaigned to gain stringent laws against all types of pornography in the US. In 1984 an ordinance was drafted by them to enable women to take civil action against anyone involved in the production, distribution or sale of pornography. Although the ordinance was vetoed by the mayor a revised version was passed by Indianopolis City Council which, two years later, was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court with the help of the Feminist Anti-Censorship Taskforce.' Bloomsbury Guide to Human Thought

Pornography is present in many films, almost each romantic comedy has one or more love scenes. It is rather accepted. People have sexuality, and one should not forget about that. In more 'free societies', people feel that it is an important part of their lives.
Also photography very often includes some pornographic element. Some of them are called the art, but some are not.

10.Seven deadly sins

These are seven deadly sins: pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth. Christians believe that committing them is very bad. Not only in that religion, but also generally in ethics. People try to avoid committing them, however e.g. pride is not always considered as a sin, or to a certain extant. When somebody humiliated us, we would not say sorry or behaved as he would like after humiliation. What is more, in our society the need to have money is understood, they are necessary to survive. I believe that one should express his feelings, because it is healthy and true. While we are angry, the best way to be honest with ourselves is just to express anger, of course if it is not killing somebody. Maybe there are explanations for all seven deadly sins - we are just humans...

Vice	Virtue against which it sins	Brief description
Pride (1)	Humility	Seeing ourselves as we are and not comparing ourselves to others is humility. Pride and vanity are competitive. If someone else's pride really bothers you, you have a lot of pride.
Avarice/Greed (5)	Generosity	This is about more than money. Generosity means letting others get the credit or praise. It is giving without having expectations of the other person. Greed wants to get its "fair share" or a bit more.
Envy (2)	Love	"Love is patient, love is kind…" Love actively seeks the good of others for their sake. Envy resents the good others receive or even might receive. Envy is almost indistinguishable from pride at times.
Wrath/Anger (3)	Kindness	Kindness means taking the tender approach, with patience and compassion. Anger is often our first reaction to the problems of others. Impatience with the faults of others is related to this.
Lust (7)	Self control	Self control and self mastery prevent pleasure from killing the soul by suffocation. Legitimate pleasures are controlled in the same way an athlete's muscles are: for maximum efficiency without damage. Lust is the self-destructive drive for pleasure out of proportion to its worth. Sex, power, or image can be used well, but they tend to go out of control.
Gluttony (6)	Faith and Temperance	Temperance accepts the natural limits of pleasures and preserves this natural balance. This does not pertain only to food, but to entertainment and other legitimate goods, and even the company of others.
Sloth (4)	Zeal	Zeal is the energetic response of the heart to God's commands. The other sins work together to deaden the spiritual senses so we first become slow to respond to God and then drift completely into the sleep of complacency.

http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven_deadly_sins/

Of the seven deadly sins, this ONE is my biggest failing:
Lust	35%
Anger	18%
Pride	12%
Sloth	10%
Envy	10%
Gluttony	9%
Greed	6%

9.Being lazy

Is it being bad or is it just a way to relax? Maybe it depends on a result of being lazy, however it seems to me that we don't like lazy people, but we like to be lazy. There are some websites titled 'How to overcome laziness', and maybe they are useful. Because of laziness, we do something less
grueling, not to do something what we have to do. Sometimes, it is not harmful, something is not done, or we stayed at home. Unfortunately, sometimes we may get bad mark, have to do everything one day before a deadline. In my opinion, it is a quiet interesting form of being bad. It is said that doing nothing is also a choice, so it is our choice, not somebody's else will.

There is a book 'The lazy way to succeed'
http://lazyway.blogs.com/lazy_way/2008/01/definition-of-s.html

It teaches you how to use your laziness constructively to find smart solutions as opposed to working long and hard.

It helps you gain insight into what you should be doing in your life to achieve maximum success. And how you should be doing it.

It encourages you to let your passions drive you instead of being dictated to by bosses and financial need.

In the end, you will become more aware of your own self and the special gifts you possess.

Maybe it is possible to be lazy and to feel good. However, I am always mad at myself when I should have done something.

8. 'Hands therapy'

In Poland, but I am sure that not only there, there is a guy who is healing by his hands. Sounds surprising...He had his problem on TV when I was a kid. I remember that firstly, he was choosing somebody from the audience, who was ill (people couldn't see, walk, or they had some illnesses not visible from the first time). Then, he was putting his hands on that person's forehead. After a few moments, that person was healed. He says that it is all about energy, which is able to help somebody. His is good, that is why he is helping people.

This is an advertisement of his program. Firstly, he is healing us, later he is talking (in Polish about our lives and at the end there is a table with next meetings.



Is it good? He may be just a cheater, who gains a lot of money.

I have heard about the same show in the USA. Before a show, a healer's wife was talking with people to find out illnesses. That was the reason of his knowledge during the show. What is more, the healed people were his friends , not really ill.

I don't know what to think about such a practice. If it is helpful, why not, but maybe it is just a game based on our naivety. And these hands on TV....
http://www.nfsh.org.uk/
http://www.newsmonster.co.uk/health/does-faith-healing-really-work.html

3. Comment

http://gina16-beingbad.blogspot.com/2008/04/smoking.html

Smoking may be called an addiction or something normal - because our parents, teenagers and friends smoke, so why is it so bad if everybody does?
We all know illnesses caused by smoking. ‘Smoking kills’ is the most popular note and should discourage from smoking. The message, even if it is literally true, is not able to get to the audience. Smokers don’t care. The death is too abstractive, as the notes are. Generally, people are not afraid of death, not while they feel alive. Smoking is sexy, cool and ..what else? Or maybe it is dangerous for our health? Our society is schizophrenic, we want to take care of our health, but also we want to feel better, be accepted or be as an adult. My sister smokes, she is sixteen. It is really hard to do something about that. She doesn't want our help - it is not a problem for her. Should it be? Yes, because she is young, we all know what may happen in the future, on the other hand, I know that she smokes, and somehow I accept that. I mean, I am not depressed or something. Even if I don't smoke.

7.TV news

In my opinion news are all about being bad. Crimes, problems, politics....Only sometimes we can hear about birth of a rare animal in the ZOO, or some artistic events.

I would like to examine BBC web page:
The first headline is about food crisis. Top stories are:

• Power-sharing call for Zimbabwe

• Mozambique police 'kill at will'

• Many dead in Afghan suicide blast

What is interesting I found this:

Massacre at Virginia Tech

One year after the United States' worst mass-shooting, This World investigates why the killer carried out the attack.

According to The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology moral panic is:

'an extreme social response to the perception that the moral condition of society is deteriorating at a calamitous pace. Most often such panics are promoted by mass media reports reinforced by officials in various institutions such as the state. Numerous sociologists, especially in Britain, have interpreted moral panic as a device used to distract public attention from underlying social problems and justify increased social control over the working class and other potentially rebellious segments of society. From this perspective, for example, the moral panic over street muggings in Britain during the 1970s can be viewed as part of a political effort to weaken the welfare state at the expense of lowerand working-class people who were the object of increased police control. In this way, resistance among minorities and the poor was perceived not as political or class conflict but as individual lawlessness requiring repressive measures.

The concept of moral panic has also been applied to trends in youth culture, reactions to AIDS and illegal drug use, and hooliganism in Britain.'

It is said that in the USA Bush and the government are trying to maintain panic, to make people behave in a way they want. Without that, they couldn't have sent an army to e.g. Afghanistan. These are the stages of moral panic:

1. Someone or something is defined as a threat to values or interests;
2. This threat is depicted in an easily recognizable form by the media;
3. There is a rapid build up of public concern;
4. There is a response from authorities or opinion makers;
5. The panic recedes or results in social changes.

(http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol8is3/killingbeck.html)

Living in the never-ending fear is stressful, and may cause more violence. As a reader of media, we should be conscious, and aware of what is created by media.

2. Comment

Violence in video games

i believe that it may be considered as a serious problem. Becky's post about violence in video games and an influence on people reminds me about the film - 'Elephant'. In USA, after playing computer games with the main objective - killing people, very often these people don't have gun, so they are not dangerous for a player. However, a player with a gun kills them. 'Elephant' is a film about an ordinary day at high school. Two teenagers, after playing computer games full of violence, plan and perform a mass execution of their classmates. They buy guns online, what is very easy. Why?
It seems to be without feeling, shooting people is just a game, except that they are real. At the end, after killing everybody, one boy shoots his friend with whom he was killing.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1000538393/ - a trailer

Do you remember him?

Thirty-two people were shot dead at two locations on the Virginia Tech university campus, at least 30 of them killed by 23-year-old Cho Seung-hui.

Cho Seung-hui, who staged America's worst shooting massacre, has revealed himself as a deeply disturbed individual, obsessed with violence and harbouring profound and unexplained grievances, apparently against his fellow students.

As we can see, it is not only a fiction in the film, but also the reality...

6.The Corporation

There is a film made by Mark Achbar called ‘The Corporation’, which ‘explores the nature and spectacular rise of the dominant institution of our time’(http://www.thecorporation.com). Nowadays, corporations believe that the solution is to stimulate and create more chances, but as David Korten wrote, there is an evidence that poverty doubled since 1950, in spite of creating new corporations. In their opinion, free trade is the best possible option. However, corporation wants more and more power, very often uses it to protect itself, not to help the market or people. The human workers are replaced by the technologies. Charles Kernaghan, Director and National Labour Committee, was one of the interviewees. He was talking about workers right, and especially about sweatshops, which is a workshop or factory in which sweated labour, hard work for long hours with poor pay and conditions, is used. In his opinion, talking about a sweatshop in Bangladesh is talking about young women (16-25 years old) ‘locked in factories behind barbed wire with armed guards’ . It is unfair trade, in the contrary to the fair one which for e.g. respects workers rights and creates the same opportunities for man and woman, does it not. Marketing for kids, created to make parents buy a product for a child. In fact, it is a manipulation, not only for kids, but also for parents. And what about the case when some corporation bought a rain-water in some poor country? Yes, it is called a privatization, but it was highly immoral. Corporations cause an environmental damage and they have to pay huge amounts of money as fines, but they don't care.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379225/

5. The foot binding

As today we could see, sometimes body modifications are harmful to ourselves. Forgetting about piercing and tattoos, I would like to focus on other body modifications.
The foot binding, which is a Chinese tradition is very controversial. Here I found the description of the process.

First the foot was massed and broken then the foot bone with a stone. The foot became then so closely with bandages umschlungen that it was restrained not only in growth and deformed to the becoming lumpy foot, but often also partly or completely died. Women, were so adjusted - as ideal foot length applied 10 cm, which corresponds about to the shoe size 17 -, were no longer able, without leaving strange assistance the house.

In their book "„savage of swans "“(S. 17f.) tells the authoress young to Chang like the feet of their grandmother was bound:

"„The feet of my grandmother were bound, when them were straight three years old. Their nut/mother had in such a way wound first a material volume of six m around their feet that all four small toes showed toward bundles. Then it put a large stone on its feet and zerschmetterte to the My grandmother cried her nut/mother on before pain loud up and flehte to stop. Their nut/mother plugged it a cloth into the mouth, in order to bring it to the silence. My grandmother lost consciousness during the procedure several times.

It took years, until the ideal of beauty was reached. After the bones were broken, the feet had to be bound day and night firmly with cloths, until it was guaranteed that they would not grow together any longer. If one would have loosened the cloths, the feet would have immediately continued to grow. Over years my grandmother suffered constantly furchtbarste pain. But if it asked its nut/mother, it may nevertheless take the cloths of the feet, began their nut/mother to cry. She said to her daughter that without bound feet her life was ruined and that all of this happens only at her best one.

In the time at that time the family of the bridegroom examined the feet of the bride as the first. Large, i.e. normal feet brought dishonor over the family of the married man. The mother-in-law main header the seam of the long skirt of the bride high and regarded the feet of the daughter-in-law exactly. If the feet were longer than approximately ten centimeters, them let the hem of an item of clothing in a demonstrative gesture of the Verachtung fall and schnaubte furiously of it. The bride remained alone critical views of the wedding company suspended. All stared their feet and did their Verachtung loudly and in stress to hurting and way on kund.

Sometimes a nut/mother removed the stone or the cloths from compassion with her daughter, after the foot bones were broken. The daughters made bitter reproaches later for their mothers that they had not remained hard, because they hardly bore the constant and the Verachtung of the family of their man and the society. "“

It seems all perfectly thought, but it is scary. I believe that we may call these women victims. The foot binding started in 10th century, and even if it was banned in 1911, people carry on doing that. It is very harmful to a woman, her body is damaged, her bones were broken and sometimes her foot (which are the support of her body) can't hold her. She can't walk fast, but in the eyes of all Chinese society, she is beautiful. In my opinion, it is just the justification. Why people have to be the same? Are the bigger foot so ugly? We know they aren't. Know, there are more and more higher and big-foot woman. So what?

There is an interesting article about female body modifications.
And the foot binding.

4.Ender's Game

We can't avoid meeting bad people, as we can't avoid being bad from time to time. As we already know by watching 'The kids', films are about coping with bad, and what is more, I can risk saying that most of them won't exist without that problem. We wouldn't recognize good then.
The same situation is with books. A bad character, a mistake of a protagonist or an evil that rules the world.

I would like to write about Ender's Game , one of my favorite books.

Orson Scott Card created a world in danger of destruction.
The only solution was to teach a little boy - Ender, whose genes were perfect, how to fight with an unknown race (which is called the Buggers), and how to understand the enemy. The problem occurred, when he discovered that the simulation wasn't just the part of lesson, but real war. He destroyed the Bugger's planet. He didn't want to kill them...but he did. Firstly, people loved him and called him their rescuer. But the situation changed really quickly, after the publication of a book about the Buggers (in fact, Ender was its author. He wrote that book to make people understand the Buggers), they started to hate him, calling him the author of massacre. Finally, he found a cocoon with a Bugger's queen and on the new planet, he made her alive. What is interesting, she didn't blame him.
The war for Buggers, and they started this war, was all about finding more life territory. Buggers are very specific. The queen is as a head, and the rest of population is like her hands and legs. So, it is not a problem, for one Bugger, to be killed.
The queen thought that the same situation is with human beings. When she killed somebody it wasn't real killing for her.

It is all very complicated, and there is more books about him.
Generally, the question is: was he the killer?

Yes, he killed them, but without knowing it. He was not responsible. It was done in order to save the world. That was the war.
But they were dead, that is the fact. He felt guilty, and all his life he was trying to expiate.

There is an interesting essay 'creating the innocent killer' by John Kessel.

3.Kids...

the trailer for Kids

The film was shocking, but in fact, there was nothing 'new' in it. We are all surrounded by things like these shown on the film. The saddest is the fact that they are kids... well, perhaps, they're no longer kids...because their behavior is not innocent. We may call them the adult kids.

Childhood is the most wonderful period of human life. Well, it should be. Kids are learning how the world works, smelling and tasting everything. They feel safe, under mum's and dad's protection. They are innocent, which means that they have to be told what evil and good means. Unless we do it, they can not understand behaviors. Of course, it depends on parents religion, morality etc. Without parents, who are the most important during the upbringing, kids are not kids. They become more like adults. And that was what we saw watching 'Kids'. Parents were absent.

1.Comment

Blogger Natasha said...

I believe that unless specifically agreed upon that the relationship is an 'open' one, then infidelity is unacceptable behaviour from either party. The idea of being in a relationship with somebody, to me, means you want to be with them and only them. Cheating signifies the cracks in the relationship hence seeking something from elsewhere outside of the relationship.

Yes.But I think that there isn't really something like 'open' relationship, because sooner or later, we are only for sex with that person. Without love,and what is more, we have other sexual partners and without love as well. Our real partner is exactly the same as the others.

I believe that our behavior, the things we do, are the most important. One may think: I didn't want to kill him, ups... It's a really serious problem, even our culture seems to absorb it.
It all depends on our believes!

2.Infidelity...

Nowadays, we can observe an outbreak of an epidemic called infidelity. Why is it so seductive?

Have we lost our conscience? As it is stated, it is 'the complex of ethical and moral principles that controls or inhibits the actions or thoughts of an individual' and 'the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives' (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conscience)

Does one, who cheated on his or her partner, feel guilty? Maybe, there are some people who claim that this is the present, and what is more, that one can do whatever one wants. Yes... our freedom, such a catchword, but really our getting lost in life. Unfortunately, I believe that the majority of us feels tired, hopeless and doesn't have a moral code to follow (either religious or human).

The Kant's categorical imperative : 'I ought never to act except in such a way that I could also will that my maxim should become a universal law' (Kant in Blackburn 2001:120) could be a solution. Do we want, being unfaithful to our partner, the same thing to happen to us? Most frequently, the answer will be ' no', however we tend to forget about it while doing something not only morally bad, but also painful to somebody else.

It is all about a pleasure, one can say. 'The happy life is a string of satisfying inner sensation' (Jeremy Bentham in Blackburn 2001:81). I think that the utilitarianism perceives life in a wrong way, because our life as a happy pigs, without suffering, would be monotonous, and at the same time boring and not happy at all. What is more, living in infatuation, would be only seemingly good, and probably, we wouldn't want such a life, if there was a possibility to choose.

What is so bad about cheating, when nobody else knows about it? It is not legally wrong, but it is morally! What's more, there is a possibility of finding out. We may feel guilty, and it could lead to a divorce.

1.Where are we going to?

Our destination doesn't have to be far away from here. All we have to do, is to open our eyes wider and observe our neighbours, people who hide from street lamps and rats in basements. Our trip won't be short, as we won't be able to avoid people being bad.
1.Infidelity. So common nowadays. You may even see your friend’s wife through her window with a stranger who is undressing her quickly and passionately.
2. Smoking. Your mum in the kitchen, your sister secretly when only the proper people might see her, your grandfather smoking a pipe and a young woman smoking to attract men.
3.Shoplifting and stalking , who doesn't see somebody doing these.
4.Bad cinema, pornography, vulgarized cartoons and violence...
Open your eyes and you will see more and more...
Hopefully, humans are not only bad, but it is a different story.

http://atheism.about.com/od/philosophybranches/p/Ethics.htm